Orlando gator killed on runway at executive airport

A photo of an 11-foot alligator killed on the runway at Orlando Executive Airport is going viral on Facebook.

The gator was reportedly killed at 2 a.m. on June 1, but local pilot Brad Pierce posted the photo Tuesday morning. By Wednesday at noon, the post had been shared more than 2,000 times.

A spokeswoman for the airport, Carolyn Fennell, confirmed that the incident occurred last week. She said there was some damage to the private plane but didn’t have details about that.

“Fish and Wildlife Service said it was a 500-pound alligator,” Fennell said.

The photo shows the massive alligator lying on the runway, trailing blood on the concrete.

Pierce, who was not at the scene when it happened, said he was told a small Navajo plane struck the gator when landing. Pierce said the pilot claims the gator leaped into the air as the plane was passing and struck the wing, and the plane was damaged.

Gators are known to have crawled onto Florida runways before, but this gator was big.

"I've never seen something so crazy in 20 plus years of flying thousands of hours all throughout the country," Pierce said. "Quite a sight to say the least!"

The executive airport is 3 miles from downtown Orlando and is governed by Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, which also governs Orlando International Airport. It covers about 1,000 acres, near several lakes, including Lake Underhill.

The airport provides 24-hour service to mostly corporate or convention travelers, through two fixed-base operators, Sheltair Aviation Services and Atlantic Aviation.

Contact me with a news tip at pbrinkmann@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5660; Twitter is @PaulBrinkmann